


But It's Far From Over

by misseshermionemalfoy



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Loss of Virginity, Marriage Proposal, Oral Sex, anti mal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 02:04:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14391927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misseshermionemalfoy/pseuds/misseshermionemalfoy
Summary: Alina keeps her powers, the collar and the fetter. Aleksander gifts her the feathers of the firebird as earrings and she can finally balance him. This is the story of their rise to power.*Beta'd by shirewalker





	But It's Far From Over

**Author's Note:**

> i've kind of had this in the works for a while but it's still definitely a WIP. enjoy!

 

The collar and the fetter remain. She wears the Firebird, the last of the amplifiers, as earrings. One feather for each ear.

 

The problem is that The Darkling killed the Firebird, the third and most powerful of the amplifiers and now he has complete control over Alina.

 

Alina watched with horror as The Darkling knelt before her with the earrings David had quickly put together. “In the name of my darling Alina, Sol Koroleva.”

 

They were standing there at the top of the falls. Her fingers shook heavily as she gripped the earrings. She was sure this would lead to further destruction of either Ravka or the neighboring countries. “Thank you…” She hesitated before she put them in her ears. What would she feel when she put them on?

 

“Genya could you help me?” Alina said in a brave tone of voice. She hadn’t worn earrings in months...

 

The brutally scarred tailor stepped forward and received a nod of acceptance from The Darkling. She slipped the earrings into Alina’s ears without much ceremony and gave a deep bow to the Sun Queen.

 

 _Summon_. The command was like a soft caress to her mind. She wanted to summon the light…

 

She held her hands high and summoned a beam of light so bright and hot it scorched the trees.

 

 _More._ Power flowed through her and the joy she got from using her power surged through her like running water breaking through a dam.

 

She pointed her hands at the pool of water below the waterfall and the water boiled and sent hot steam into their faces. She called off the light and looked at The Darkling, looking for acceptance, joy, some kind of human emotion.

 

“Excellent.” The Darkling whispered in a deadly quiet tone. He stepped up to her and snapped his fingers. Ivan, Fedyor and a few of the other oprichniki guards surrounded her.

 

“Chain her and have Zoya and Nadia put her in the Lantsov pup’s contraption, they got us up here they can get us back down to safety.” The Darkling commanded.

 

The Darkling’s heartrenders surrounded her and she could feel her heart rate being lowered so she fell into a coma. There would be no protesting this.

* * *

  


She woke up, not next to the Darkling, but next to Ivan. She had her hands up to call the light to her in an instant but Ivan didn’t try to hurt her. “I’m going to let you out of your chains if you promise not to incinerate me.”

 

She rubbed her wrists they were sore from where the chains had been digging into her. They appeared to still be in The Darkling’s coach but she couldn’t tell where they were from her position in the coach.

 

“Where are we?”

 

“The Grand Palace.”

 

“You knocked me out for the whole ride?”

 

“On the King’s orders.”

 

She gave him a confused glance. Was the darkling king? Damn, she was in further over her head than she thought she was.

 

She could feel the blood returning to her head and felt a massive headache coming on. “I think I need a healer. I have a splitting headache.”

 

Just then Genya ripped open the door to The Darkling’s carriage and sneered at Ivan. “You could have killed her!”

 

“ _Da, razrusha’ya_.” Ivan sneered.

 

“I’m no more ruined than you are, Ivan,” Genya said crisply.

 

Genya helped Alina sit up and take a few deep breaths. She may have been the Sun Summoner, the savior to Ravka and terror of the Shu-Han and Fjerdans but she still needed air and food. She hadn’t eaten in days, she felt nauseous and generally awful.

  
  
  


Genya helped her out and walked her to the Grand Palace. She sent word for a healer to meet them in Alina’s new room. The Darkling would not like that she was keeping company with a traitor. She wouldn’t be surprised if her friend was rewarded with more nichevo’ya bites for this.

 

Alina felt her stomach churning. It was all just air inside her. On their way to her rooms, she pitched violently and threw up into a vase. Nothing came up but it _hurt_.

 

Healers rushed for her as she slipped from Genya’s grasp and her head hit the floor with a thump.

 

The Darkling was in his sitting room when he felt a strange sense of wrongness spread through him. It wasn’t him, it was coming through the bond with Alina and he knew something horrible had happened.

 

He put his black kefta on loosely over a dark shirt and black breeches. His rooms were only a few doors away from Alina’s but he found himself running there nonetheless.

 

Three healers hovered over the Sun Summoner. He knew they could _all_ feel his presence in the room and the grisha all curtseyed to him and mumbled _moi tsar_.

 

“What’s wrong?” He said, keeping a cool mask in place, shielding him from emotions.

 

“She’s ill, _moi tsar_. How long was she under the heartrender’s grip?”

 

“Grisha don’t get sick.” He said sternly.

 

“Her heart’s been damaged and she is malnourished.” Another one of the Grisha healers said. “We can fix it but we thought it might be best to let you know that another few hours under the heartrender’s hold and she could have died.” The Grisha's voice was stern. Clearly she thought the Grisha responsible for the Sun Summoner’s brush with fate should be punished.

 

“I’ll see to it. Give her every comfort, this is to be the healer’s primary focus until she returns to health. She’s to have a team of healers with her day and night. Have reports sent to my personal chambers.”

 

They murmured “ _Da, moi tsar,_ ” and curtseyed.

 

He turned and went to the training rooms. Ivan would be there, probably sparring with Fedyor.

 

Ivan was usually beyond reproach with The Darkling. Sure enough, he saw Fedyor’s head in a headlock and Ivan squeezing his best friend’s throat. “Enough.” The Darkling said in a thundering voice. Ivan seemed to recognize the voice immediately and let his friend go. Fedyor stood up, placing his fingers around his neck tenderly.

 

He limped away muttering “ _moi tsar”_ under his breath.

 

Whatever was going on Ivan seemed to be in a thunderous mood. ‘ _Da? Moi tsar?_ ” Ivan asked, trying to play innocent. It wasn’t a good look on him.

 

“The Sun Summoner is on bed rest. She is malnourished and the lining around her heart is inflamed.”

 

Ivan gave The Darkling a sharp look. “I did exactly as you asked, _moi tsar_.”

 

“I never said that you shouldn’t wake her up to eat or drink for a seven-day ride back to Os Alta.” The Darkling said calmly, too calmly.

 

“You said she was not to open her eyes until we returned to the Grand Palace, I fulfilled your orders to perfection!” Ivan said, voice pitching higher.

 

“She is the Sun Summoner, Ivan.” The Darkling said in a regretful tone of voice. “I thought you would have known to use _common sense_ when handling her. You could have kept her drowsy enough to eat and drink. You did not have to use such force with her.”

 

“What is my punishment?” Ivan said.

 

“You are to explain to her that it was you who nearly killed her and let her decide your punishment.” The Darkling said silkily.

 

“Is she the queen now?” Ivan asked.

 

“No, not yet, but she will be soon.” The Darkling replied.

 

“ _Da, moi tsar._ ” Ivan bowed his head and The Darkling swept from the room.

* * *

  
  


**Three days later**

 

Alina still felt the effects of her extended coma but she was able to get out of bed. The Darkling had barely visited her from what she could remember but that wasn’t much so maybe he was there more often than she was awake for. She wished he had visited more often. She _could_ have reached out through their bond without much effort but she wanted him to reach out to _her_. She wanted to be wanted and not have to chase him down.

 

It startled her to think of The Darkling as a comfort to her. He had set her world on fire and then ignited this power in her that made her feel like the world should revolve around her pinky finger. He’d made her stronger even if it had been painful.

 

She was wary of her thoughts, trying to hold them back from the bond between them. She wanted The Darkling to be on his toes around her.

 

Ivan had an audience with her today. The sun was high in the sky when he came to meet her in the gardens.

 

Ivan knelt before her and bowed his head, “ _Moya tsaritsa._ ”

 

“Hello Ivan,” She said in a warm voice. She’d been using her power that morning so her cheeks were rosy and she had a golden glow to her skin.

 

“I’d like to apol-” Ivan started before Alina stopped him.

 

“I know you’d like to apologize but first I have a few questions.”

 

Alina could feel the doubt and was that… fear? Radiating from him.

 

“As you wish,” Ivan said, standing at full attention.

 

“Was this an attempt on my life?” She asked.

 

Ivan looked mortified, “No, of course not. My power…”

 

“Got away from you? You were lax in your duties?” She supplied.

 

She could hear his teeth grit. “Yes.”

 

“I understand you have an amplifier?”

 

“Yes.” He said shortly. They both know where this conversation was going.

 

“I think it would be a just punishment to rid you of your amplifier.”

 

“ _Sol Koroleva_ , with all due respect…” Ivan’s tone radiated disrespect in every manner.

 

“I am not queen yet, I would appreciate it if you didn’t address me as such.” Alina snapped. “The amplifier is forfeit. And you are no longer an oprichnik, I will never give you another chance to endanger my life.”  

 

Ivan bowed his head with a snarl, “It is the king’s decision who he keeps in his personal guard.”

 

“And you think the king will not listen to every word I tell him? He already believes you have too much power.”

 

Ivan’s snarl deepened, “Said the orphan from Keramzin.”

 

“I’m sorry, do you want to repeat that?” Alina said feigning she did not hear him. She could feel that the light wanted to be called, she should have incinerated him then and there.

 

“It seems I’m not the only one with ideas above my station.”

 

Alina reached out and shot out with the cut, but it was weak and she felt the pain in her chest return with a vengeance.

 

“Give me the amplifier!” She snapped through the pain.

 

“No.” Ivan turned on his heel and left.

* * *

  


**Five days later.**

 

Alina looked at the Firebird's feather in her ears. The earrings David had constructed were beautiful despite his haste. Both earrings had a single black diamond on them. She sighed.

 

“Alina?”

 

She stopped gawking at herself in the mirror and pretended to be reading on the edge of her bed. She turned her head, she would know that sly voice anywhere. “Come in, _moi tsar_.” She doubted he would ever knock on a door in his entire life.

 

“I wanted to see you.” The Darkling said.

 

“I can see that,” She said as her lips curled into a smile.

 

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

 

She paused, she was terrified of the power he had instilled in her but the man? Aleksander? He was just a boy - brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity. She was surprised by the request, especially because of his reticence to visit her while she was on bed rest.   
  


She hesitated. “No, I have to go down to the healer’s tonight, they’ve still been watching my blood. They have to feed me a special diet that David has put together.”

 

“David Kostyk? The Durast?” The Darkling said in curiosity.  

 

“Yes, he’s engineered a nutritional formula that will keep me in good health. I’m still fighting the effects of the swollen lining of my heart.”

 

The Darkling looked furious. “Alina…”

 

“Yes, Aleksander?” She said softly, noticing that he was now sitting next to her, close enough she could feel the warmth coming from his body.

 

“You know if anything happened to you,” His voice got all creaky, “I couldn’t go on.” The Darkling said seriously.

 

“I’m perfectly aware that you’re prepared to endure eternity alone Aleks.”

 

His face, usually so impassive was faintly pink. She had called him by the pet name before and he’d never bothered to correct her. “You know I could not. You are my light.” He intoned softly

 

She was scared, scared of what her own thirst for power had wrought. All the people in her life who were _otkazat’sya_ royal or not were dead or worse. Nikolai was a nichevo’ya. Mal was just dead, not that the loss of the cheating drunkard was much of a loss at all. She knew she was now his true equal. Even with the _merzost_ she could balance him. She hadn’t been this close to him in nearly a month and she realized how much she needed his darkness to balance her light. She realized how much her heart ached for his presence in her everyday life, as much she needed the sun she needed his darkness, she needed to save him from his darkness as much as she wanted to revel in it. If only the night of the winter fete had ended differently….  

 

“Come to the infirmary at six o’clock tonight.” She said, putting the book down and rested her head on his shoulder. So much had happened to her in just shy of a year. Now she had the third and final amplifier and she’d been too sick to use it.

 

She was livid with Ivan. She’d sacrificed Nikolai (and to a lesser extent, Mal) for the chance at the third amplifier. Her heart ached when she thought about it. It ached even worse when she realized it could have all been for naught because of a careless heartrender.

 

She paused and thought of bringing up the issue of Ivan. “Have you heard what I wanted from Ivan after I was able to get out of bed?”

 

“No, he has not spoken to me of your conversation.” The Darkling said, all hints of flushed cheeks gone.

 

“I wanted to rid him of his amplifier and cast him out of your-” she hesitated, “our personal guard.”

 

“That would destroy Ivan and he would be of little use to me without it. But it is your decision.” It was The Darkling’s way of telling her she could take the reins on this issue. “He’s been sleeping in the oprichniki bunks as far as I know, or if the sound of Zoya’s moans are anything to go by.”

 

Alina looked disgusted and the reason was twofold. Her orders had been ignored and the thought of Zoya sleeping with Ivan was enough to put anyone’s teeth on edge. “How do I do it? Will it kill him?” Alina asked. The Darkling was an expert on all things amplifiers.

 

“No it won’t kill him but he would be reduced to less than half of his power he has now. And I’ll see to it that he’s removed from the oprichniki bunks.”

 

“Wouldn’t that just make him a regular Grisha?” She asked.

 

“Yes, but I have no use for ordinary power.” The Darkling said coldly.

 

There was a brief pause when Alina wondered what she was growing into. Ivan had clearly tried to assassinate her. Whether it was by lack of control over his powers or by sheer malice. She noticed The Darkling had at some point put a hand on her knee. It made her shudder.

 

“It’s good to see you doing well.” He smoothed his kefta and lifted her hand to his mouth. She luxuriated in the feel of his smooth lips on her knuckles and the jolt she felt pass up through her arm at the contact. He tried to pull away from her but she caught his wrist in a surprisingly strong grip.

 

“How about a real kiss?” Alina asked timidly.

 

The Darkling looked amused and he brushed his mouth over hers. She felt elated. Yes! She got him to kiss her without anyone dying or being tortured. He was bent over her and eventually his hands worked into the back of her white hair.

 

The kiss seemed to go on forever and she could stay in this moment for as long as her lungs would let her. A flash of Nikolai’s pained face as he was turned into a nichevo’ya broke the spell. She was power hungry but Nikolai had been a brilliant, kind man. She felt his loss keenly.  

 

Finally Alina was the one to break the kiss, apparently, The Darkling needed less air than her because she came up gasping. “You should go before I have my wicked way with you.” She mumbled. She didn’t want to explain all the feelings the kiss had brought to the surface.

 

The Darkling looked surprised and more amused. “As you wish my Alina.”

 

As his black kefta swept out of the room she wondered if he felt any pain for the lovers he’d lost over the years. Or if in five hundred years she was his first love, his _only_ love. She shuddered at the thought. Was this fate?

  


The Darkling was alone, he breathed a sigh of relief. Three sharp knocks sound at The Darkling’s bedchamber. “Enter!”

 

Ivan stuck his head of wavy brown hair into The Darkling’s bedchamber, “ _Moi tsar._ ” He said bowing his head lightly.

 

“Please Ivan come in we have much to discuss.”

 

Ivan looked like he wanted to vomit he was so nervous.

 

“Have I been unkind in my treatment of you?” The Darkling asked.

 

“No.”

 

“Have I not trusted you with the safety of the Sun Queen personally?”

 

“Yes, _moi tsar_.”

 

“She wanted to take your amplifier.”

 

Ivan bowed his head. His hands shook slightly with the effort it took not to talk back.

 

“Give it to me!” The Darkling spat.

 

“But, _moi tsar_ , I have served you faithfully for 5 years, since I was sixteen and I have always held your favor!”

 

“You do not hold it now.” The Darkling said and gripped the back of boy’s neck and shoved him face down into his feather bed. “The amplifier, Ivan.”

 

Ivan ripped the bear claw from his neck, keeping his head buried in the bed he stuck his hand out and gave over the bear claw.

 

The Darkling took it and threw it in the fire. Ivan could feel the power in him dying like a candle being snuffed out.

 

Ivan stared into the steely grey depths of The Darkling’s eyes. There was nothing there for him to hold onto. The Darkling watched as Ivan ran from the room, tears streaking his cheeks.

* * *

  


Alina sipped at the nutritional broth David had prepared with one of the Grisha healers. David was prattling along to the healer when she saw The Darkling’s black kefta swish past the door.

 

The healer and David bowed deeply and murmured the proper greeting before leaving promptly. Alina finished sipping her broth. “Hello.” She greeted him with a smile.

 

“Hello, my Alina.” The Darkling placed a soft kiss on her forehead

 

“You took Ivan’s amplifier for me?” She asked, getting straight to the point.

 

“Yes, I gave it to him, surely I have the power to take it away as well?” The Darkling stated, he sounded every bit like the terrifying creature she had met in Kribirsk all those months ago.

 

She sipped the broth before responding.

 

“Of course you do.” She said placatingly.

 

“I was hoping we could spend the evening together…” The Darkling asked her.

 

“In the gardens?” She offered. Several heartbeats passed before he replied.

 

“No… in my room.”

 

Alina sighed, the thought of being alone in The Darkling’s room was... enticing. Her heart said no but her body begged for his company. “I’m not ready. I want to save that for our wedding night.”

 

The Darkling’s face suddenly looked much younger, as if he really was a boy of seventeen or eighteen. “So you’ll agree to get married?” He asked, a genuine smile growing on his lips. “You’re… you’re really saying yes to this? To us?” His voice was a little shaky and she couldn’t believe he was acting this way. He’d been trying to get them to agree to be married since well… since she’d met him basically.  

 

Alina looked over Aleks shoulder, not quite able to make eye contact with him, she was feeling some of the residual pain from Ivan’s attack or was that nerves? Her breath filled her lungs in shaky breaths. They were immortal, they would be married until the end of time. It was a big decision. “Yes,” Alina said as she finished her broth. She scooted closer to him and kissed Aleks cheek.

 

“Let’s go to my room. I promise we won’t get into anything too tiring and I know you’re still healing. I’m just tired of waking up alone.”

 

“Ok…” Alina acquiesced finally.

 

The Darkling picked her up and carried her bridal style through the grand palace with a strength she didn’t know he possessed. His lithe frame gave no hint to the corded muscle she felt now. Eventually he sat her down on the edge of his bed, he was barely out of breath even though they’d gone up several flights of stairs and zig-zagged through hallways.

 

She was still frail from Ivan’s attack so, should they do something, they’d have to go slow. She shimmied herself onto the pillows and sighed. How was his bed so much more comfortable than hers when she knew they were made of the same material…?

 

They hadn’t been alone for so long it didn’t occur to her how quickly she might change her mind about sexual things. Her body had been teased by little kisses, brief caresses but never anything too forward. All she could think about was the night of the winter fete when she had her skirts bunched around her hips waiting for him to… well… she had needed him and the way his lips curled into a smirk when he looked at her did nothing to soothe the need she also felt.

 

He shed his black kefta leaving him in a short-sleeved shirt and breeches. He seemed to be just getting comfortable. Still, the muscles of his arms and forearms were a huge turn on. She wondered how many consecutive nights he’d slept alone in here? If it was more like a prison than a place of rest.

 

She could feel her face heating up. He was just standing there, like a lost black puppy that needed taking in. She was warming up to the idea of doing _something_ tonight even if it wasn’t sex.

 

“Take off your shirt, I want to see you.” She asked him.

 

He obliged and undid the buttons. He cast the shirt off and she stared unabashedly at his chest and torso. He had a clearly defined chest, not a hair in sight, her eyes roamed down to his stomach which was also lean and well defined. Finally his hips had that ever so sexy, V formation that pointed to all the goodness beneath his breeches. She felt her cheeks heat at the thought of so many things, the things that he could do to her with that goodness.

 

He slid into bed and held her hand. She turned her head to look him, god, she couldn’t have picked a better king. Even if he was ruthless and power hungry, he was hers and hers alone. She owned part of his soul no other woman could ever own. She knew it in the way she called him ‘Aleks’ and he never corrected her and secrets he had entrusted her with. How he had been glad to see her after she’d nearly killed them both in the chapel. There were so many signs he was in love with her why hadn’t she paid attention to them before?

 

It would never be like it was with Mal, her always crying over how she was never good enough for him and Aleksander pointing out all his faults. No, Aleksander had been her soulmate all along. The idea of Aleks cheating on her was beyond impossible. They were infinite. They would live a thousand lifetimes together and she was content with that.

 

“I want to worship you tonight, _Sol Koroleva_.”

 

She flushed, “Kiss me, then.”

 

He held her hand tightly and kissed her lips sweetly, gently. She wanted more, so much more. They were just kissing! She needed to put the brakes on her hormones before she did something she regretted. She swiped her tongue against the opening of his mouth and he let her in gladly. First, just the tips of their tongues touched, tentatively. She wanted more though!

‘

She placed a hand on his bare chest and kissed him deeper. He let out an appreciative groan when she let him get on top of her. They kissed and kissed, and the more she thought about where this was heading the wetter she became.

 

Finally, she broke the kiss. “You want to worship me?” She asked him.

 

He nudged her cheek with his nose in response. “If you want to worship the Sun Queen you may worship on your knees.” She laid back on his bed, fully expecting him to object, to say she wasn’t well enough recovered for this.

 

“As the Sun Summoner wishes,” Aleksander said with a winning smirk. He folded his long legs underneath him until his heels were touching his hips.

 

Aleksander bunched her kefta and skirts around her waist and kissed up one thigh lingering above her thigh where he found a sweet spot. He worked his way higher and higher. Her breath was coming in shallow pants. She wanted him to give her the first orgasm she’d ever had. She needed to feel physically loved. He gave her a little nip where her thigh met her hips and licked a line straight up her center, drawing a sigh of pleasure.

 

“Aleksander!” She moaned as he teased her slit. She was hot and soaking wet, she was hot and soaking wet, so welcoming, so eager for him. He wanted to sink his steely length into her straight to the hilt. But not yet, he would save that for a special occasion.

 

He continued to tease her clit, rolling his tongue until she clawed at the bed sheets. He pumped his finger in and out of her trying to find a secret spot inside her. She was overwhelmed with pleasure. She had only ever kissed and groped at a man before. Nothing like this that had brought her _real_ ecstasy. This...  this was amazing.

 

Aleksander looked up at her through his long lashes as he teased her, she knew he was looking for any sign that she wanted to stop or that she was in pain. But all she felt was bliss and adoration flowing through her veins like sunshine. It was insanely sexy to make eye contact with him while he teased her. He inched his finger a little deeper inside of her and sensations she’d never felt before made her swear loudly as he slid his tongue in and out of her tight little body in sync with his finger. She closed her eyes as pleasure engulfed her and her whole body as her climax washed over her, every nerve ending was set aflame with pleasure. It seemed to last for hours and yet no time at all. It was all overwhelming and she felt loved and cared for as well as feeling like a bit of a seductress.

 

She breathed in fresh air, cool lungfuls filling her overheated body. After a few long moments, her breathing returned to normal and she felt as is she’d been cast heavenward and then landed next to Aleksander on the wisps of a cloud. Aleksander moved in the shadows and finally came to rest on a pillow beside her with a smug look on his face. “Did I worship you properly? _Sol Koroleva_?”

 

“ _Da, moi tsar._ ” She said sleepily. It was still early but she was still healing. She still needed to rest and she could feel her eyes falling

 

She would make sure he didn’t wake up alone the next morning.

**Author's Note:**

> leave me feedback! leave comments or kudos if you liked this!


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